Hey ATT... Why you force bloatware on me?

Hey ATT... Why you force bloatware on me?

I would really love an answer to a valid question. Why do you (ATT) force this bloatware on us? I can see putting that crap on my phone from factory, a la Microshaft. But why do you require us to go to the extreme length of rooting our phones, thus violating your usage terms? I bought this phone and I alone should decide which apps I would like to install. It is why I changed to Android in the first place. I suppose I should have done more thorough research. Short of a solution from you (ATT), I eventually will root my phone so that I can decide what is on it. You would do much better with the more tech savvy client, if you just made quality apps and allowed the market to decide. Alas, it is YOU that is forcing my hand into rooting. I am patiently waiting a more stable ROM and then off to rootville. An ATT store rep told me today that there is indeed a way to remove these bloatware apps. He was told or shown at a training seminar, but stopped short of showing me. It can apparantly be done though, and I am hoping someone on here will show the way. Even though I love this phone, I would prefer a jailbroken iPhone to it.

Re: Hey ATT... Why you force bloatware on me?

If you really want a device without bloatware, you can buy an iPhone. Apple does not allow carriers to install bloatware on their devices.

The other option is to buy a carrier agnostic, unlocked Android or Windows Phone device.

I'm not sure about blackberry.

As long as you are buying a carrier branded Android or Windows Phone device, there will be bloatware.

Apple has their own type of bloatware, that they force you to install on your desktop computer, called iTunes, plus Bon Jour, Quicktime, and the whole other mess that Apple calls "software". iTunes is a bloated pig if I've ever seen one.

Unfortunately, unbranded devices typically do not have the proper frequency compatibility to use AT&T's 3G network. Otherwise, that in fact would be a great (but expensive) alternative.

The reason for the bloatware is pretty clear. ATT puts that stuff on there so you will buy garbage games, apps, and services that you don't need. The Nexus One is the only phone that comes to mind that is not carrier branded but fully ATT compatible.

There are various ways to remove the bloatware, but they all require rooting the phone, and possibly voiding your warranty. Attempting to root, can also render your phone a useless "brick" if you don't do it right. If you want details, you can go over to the XDA Developors forum website. I won't post a link, as previous links to XDA by me have been deleted by this forum's moderators.

Re: Hey ATT... Why you force bloatware on me?

Yes redpoint73, it appears rooting is my only option. I just wish we werne't forced to such extremes. I mean c'mon, I'm never gonna use thieir crap... Even if I liked it, on principle I wouldn't use it just cuz they force it on me. I should have the option to remove the crap without voiding any warranty. What crap. From what I've seen CoreDroid is promising as is Revolution. Any input?

Re: Hey ATT... Why you force bloatware on me?

davidusr wrote:Have you tried deleting the bloat in the app manager? Its setup that way with the Atrix. I was shocked!

Not sure about the Inspire, but on other recent HTC phones (like my Desire Z) the bloatware are protected system apps. If you just uninstall them on the App Manager, they will just respawn whan you reboot.

Re: Hey ATT... Why you force bloatware on me?

fwempa wrote:

Yes redpoint73, it appears rooting is my only option. I just wish we werne't forced to such extremes. I mean c'mon, I'm never gonna use thieir crap... Even if I liked it, on principle I wouldn't use it just cuz they force it on me. I should have the option to remove the crap without voiding any warranty. What crap. From what I've seen CoreDroid is promising as is Revolution. Any input?

You can root without flashing a custom ROM. Rooting just gives you permission to access the otherwise protected system files. After you root, there are a variety of apps that will uninstall the bloatware apps, like Titanium Backup (free) and Absolute System Root Tool (paid app). And you can just stay on the stock ROM, if you like.

In theory, you can always return to factory condition and unroot if you ever need to send the phone for warranty service.

Another (rootless) alternative is to use an alternate launcher, like GO Launcher (and maybe others), which has the option to hide apps of your choosing in the app drawer. So the apps will still be there, but you won't have to see them in the drawer anymore. The stock Sense launcher is a bit too sluggish for my taste, anyway. GO Launcher is free, so its worth trying out, to see if you like it.

Re: Hey ATT... Why you force bloatware on me?

I have read alot, I thought, about rooting. It always involved a custom ROM (to me). You just gave me a Eureka moment. If I understand you correctly, I can just get root access (rooting) and keep all else stock? So far, I am not unhappy with most stock features, it is just the bloatware that I would love to get rid of. Rooting alone may be my answer. I can always experiment in the future, once rooted, with custom ROMs, radios, etc.

Why do so many use custom ROMs? What is the benefit of that? Rooting alone seems like such a perfect solution to me. Am I missing something?

Re: Hey ATT... Why you force bloatware on me?

TYPICALLY (see next paragraph) you can root and stay on the stock ROM. Rooting is just a change in permissions. In Linux terminology (which Android is), the "root user" is the default user that has access to all files and commands, they are also known as the "super user". Hence the term "rooting" an Android phone.

Although, if you are talking about the Inspire (I don't think you have specified), I now see on the rooting instructions for the Inspire that you need to downgrade the ROM to the stock HTC Desire HD ROM before you root. This is because HTC has implemented some newer security on their latest ROMs that has not been hacked yet. So it looks like if you want to root on the Inspire, there is no way to stay on the shipped ROM. But you will be on an official HTC ROM. This in itself will likely be an improvement over the ATT ROM, so one option is just to downgrade, and see if you like it. The stock ATT ROM is available, so you can always go back to it to maintain your warranty.

As far as why to flash a custom ROM: There is a wide array of custom ROMs, and therefore reasons to use them. Many custom ROMs have added features, subtley or completely change the themes/aesthetics of the interface, often optimize the ROM to run faster or take up less storage. They can also offer you more up-to-date software than is officially available. Such as having Gingerbread/Android 2.3 on your phone instead of the present Froyo/2.2.

Going to a custom ROM, or downgrading to the official Desire HD ROM will also fix some things that ATT has intentionally gimped, like the data upload speed on the Inspire, and the "ATT approved" Android Market.